Straddling her chair, Maya gives me a thorough look-over, squinting for reasons unrelated to the morning sunlight. "Hmm..."

I continue to sit up straight in my chair, but I soon realize I'm scratching at the right armrest like I'm going to hurl myself to my feet any minute. There's nothing to be afraid of—how hard can coming up with an angle be, anyway?—but I may have had a little too much caffeine with breakfast today. Combined with my general situation, I'm surprised I can sit still at all. But if nothing else, my aching arms and back are enough to keep me in place.

"Well," she says with a smile, "you're pretty cute when you're embarrassed. How about we try a humble angle?"

"Yeah?" I rub my scalp a few times before my bangs pop back into place. "I was kind of hoping I could go for more of a cool-guy angle."

Maya makes a valiant effort not to burst out laughing, but with her cheeks puffed out like that, she's not fooling anyone. "How about not. I'm sure plenty of other tributes will be going for that, anyway, and you want to stand out, especially since your training score was pretty average."

Yeah, a 5 isn't that great, I admit. Especially when even Trucy got an 8. Aside from that, there wasn't really anything unexpected except Hugh getting a 9.

"But you think I could pull off humble well enough?"

She nods. "And, if you don't mind me asking, you're from the community home, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"You could use that as a point in your favor if you'd like."

"Okay." I press a finger to my forehead. "And that kind of angle will actually get me sponsors?"

"Of course!" She smiles. "All you have to do is make yourself lovable enough that nobody in the Capitol can bear to watch you suffer."

I slump. "Actually, the majority of people seem to enjoy my suffering..."

She claps her hands together. "Then this is your chance to change that!"

If you say so.

We work on question prep the rest of the morning without her feeling any need to go for a different angle. After a much-needed lunch break, I switch places with Trucy and have the escort train me for a bit. Since I'm not exactly going on a date, there's not much to cover as far as etiquette. The result is an afternoon of nitpicking about my precise posture until the old man loses his focus.

Then there's a bit of free time, dinner, and a little more time to myself. I'm not sure what to do with it, so I end up forcing another workout session. As long as I don't pull anything, it can't hurt. Well. Hurt my chances in the Games.

I'm ready to fall face-first on the bed when someone knocks. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed instead, I say, "Come in."

The door opens quietly—I've yet to hear one creak in the Capitol—and Trucy steps in.

"Hey, Polly."

"Hey. What's up?" I invite her to sit next to me, and she does.

After adjusting her clean-smelling cape, she turns to me with her hands on her knees. "Are you doing okay?"

"Huh? Me? Uh... Yeah, I'm fine." I fold my arms, looking at the blue carpet. "As fine as any other tribute here."

She nods, adjusting her gloves.

I shut my eyes. "What do you really want to know?"

She shifts enough to jiggle the mattress before exhaling. "I'm... just kind of worried."

"Yeah?" I'm not sure what to do, so I end up putting an arm across her shoulders. "About what?"

She swings her legs for a moment before gripping her hands together and looking at me. "I don't think you should hate Klavier so much. I can't expect you to be friends with everyone, but you have to be careful with this kind of stuff. In the arena... I mean, there are the Careers, but a lot of normal tributes turn to killing, too, and... I know you don't want to kill anyone, but this is how it starts, and if you do get mad or scared enough to kill him, then it's easier to kill another person and—"

"Trucy, Trucy...!" I pull her into an awkward half-hug until she trails off, still shivering. "Where did you...? Listen, I don't hate him. I'm—I'm just wary of him."

She grips her fingers. "Why? I know he's hiding a few things, but everyone is. Is it just because of Kristoph?"

"I..."

"Being related doesn't mean they have to be just like each other." She clenches her fists, leaning forward. "Do you have any siblings, Polly?"

I rub my forehead. "Not that I know of."

"If you did, would you expect all of them to be running around shouting themselves hoarse and doing their hair up in horns?"

I slouch. "No. But I already know the Gavins aren't superficially that similar. I mean, if I met him under different circumstances, I might not think anything of it. But, like you said, non-Career tributes snap and kill, too. And there's a precedent for that in his family." Exhaling, I straighten up. "And then I just don't like him very much. But none of that means I'd be okay with killing him, all right? I'm glad you're looking out for me, but there's nothing to worry about."

She looks down at her toes. "Okay."

Folding my arms, I let out another breath and catch her eye. "How about this? You don't want to hurt anyone, either, right?" She nods, and I smile. "We're going to be allies, so why not hold each other accountable while we're at it? If you think I'm close to crossing the line, tell me. And I'll do the same for you."

She smiles. "I like it. I'll..." She puts her hands together in a twinge of nervousness. "I'll try not to accuse you of anything you haven't done."

"Deal." I hold out a hand, and she pauses before taking off her glove and shaking on it.

She covers her hand again in silence before I tilt the brim of her hat to see her face better. "So, what about you? Doing all right?"

"Yeah." Her eyes light up as she turns toward me. "I wouldn't be very professional if I buckled under every stressful situation! In fact—" she hops off the bed, spinning on her heel until she's facing me again—"want to see another trick?"

I lean back on my elbows. "Sure."

Smiling, she puts one hand barely behind her back. I steel myself for another appearance of the panties, but I'm not prepared for the man suddenly springing out from behind her.

"Aaaaaugh!" I just manage to avoid jumping off the bed altogether as the figure spins in a whirlwind of blue cape and swipes Trucy's hat onto its own head. "Wh-wh-what the heck is that!?"

She grins. "Surprised?"

...I'm never getting rid of either of my dumb nicknames, am I?

"This is one of my best tricks: The Amazing Mr. Hat!" She moves the hand behind her back, and the giant wooden puppet-thing opens and closes its mouth as it "speaks." "You look mahvelous, dahling!"

I toss away one of the pillows that fell onto me during my shock reaction.

"He's a big hit on stage where I work!" And Mr. Hat's turn again. "Yes. I am a big hit. Ha ha ha."

"W..." My feet are on the floor anyway, so I stand up. "Where did he even come from?!" I feint to her side, and she hops back.

"Oh, come on, Polly! Professional magicians don't reveal their secrets!"

I grin. "Then I guess I have to take matters into my own hands!" I swoop around her other side.

"Eep!" She spins, cape fluttering. I seize its edge, but the silk slips through my fingers. Bouncing on her feet, she shows her teeth. "You're going to have to try harder than that!"

"All right, then!" I charge her outright, but she dodges, leaving me inches from smacking my head right into Mr. Hat's torso. We circle each other for another minute before Trucy turns and bolts out of the door. Mr. Hat's cape billows enough I can barely even see Trucy's head, let alone wherever that puppet came from. I dash after her, following the jagged edge of the cape into the common room.

For some reason, not a soul is here.

"Looking for someone?" Trucy's head pops over the edge of the couch.

"Ah!" I run toward her, but I should have known. Mr. Hat has vanished into the ether, leaving the hat back on Trucy's crown.

"Ack! I..." I slam my fists onto the top of the couch. "I'm going to figure out the truth behind that trick if it's the last thing I do!"

Trucy giggles. "Good luck!"

"What on earth are you two doing?"

That confused voice could only belong to the escort. Sure enough, when I turn around, he's standing just outside his room, peering our way.

"S-sorry, Your Honor." I can feel my shoulders hunch as I grin sheepishly. "Are we being too loud?"

"Goodness, no!" He pulls his hands back. "Do stay occupied, for all our sakes, Mr. Justice."

Hey, it's not like I've been doing Chords of Steel nonstop! Most of it has been on the roof, too.

"I was wondering..." The escort frowns. "Is either of you any good with technology? I seem to have accidentally pressed a few buttons in my room, and... the area is no longer suitable for sleeping."

Trucy hops to her feet. "I bet Polly can fix it!"

...I would thank her for her faith in my abilities if I didn't suspect she had an ulterior motive.

"Sure thing." I start towards his room.

"Good night," calls Trucy before I pass the threshold.

I nod, smiling. "Good night."